Major Expansion Underway at the Chemical Heritage Foundation

The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) has recently been put on a
permanently solid footing with the receipt of a major endowment,
and has moved into a fine new building in Philadelphia. The CHF
had its origins in 1982 when it was established by the American
Chemical Society and the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers, taking as a model the AIP Center for History of
Physics (see this Newsletter, May 1982). CHF takes as its mission
"to strengthen public understanding of the chemical sciences and
technologies, increase the flow of the ablest students into the
chemical sciences and chemical process industries, and instill in
chemical scientists and engineers a greater pride in their
heritage and their contributions to society." It includes the
Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center, which supports basic research in
the history of the chemical sciences and sponsors events of
interest to scholars and the informed public, and the Donald F.
and Mildred Topp Othmer Library of Chemical History. Thanks to
the Beckmans, more recently the Othmers, and other friends, the
CHF's endowment now exceeds $60 million.

Pursuing a vision cherished by Othmer, in mid-1995 the CHF
purchased a new home in the historic district of Philadelphia
across from the Independence National Park. The majority of
initial functional renovations are now completed, including an
elegant expanded reading room for visiting researchers. There are
ample office spaces and several entire floors available for
future expansion.

Annual funds from ACS as well as numerous other affiliated
societies, corporations, and individuals continue to provide the
crucial underpinning for CHF's growing public outreach
activities. The Foundation's publications activity increased
extensively in the past year. It now issues a magazine, Chemical
Heritage, 48 pages in length with color pages, distributed to
over 20,000 industrial and educational leaders and science
writers. CHF also sponsors book series addressing the history of
the chemical sciences and a series of traveling exhibits designed
to showcase the contributions of chemical scientists and the
chemical process industries for students and the general public.
Since their inception in 1983, these exhibits have circulated to
177 exhibitors in 34 states and 3 foreign countries. Currently
underway is a major effort to develop an exhibit on the history
of electrochemistry.

An oral history interview program is pursued to establish a
collection documenting the work of individuals who have made
significant contributions to the chemical sciences and
industries. The foundation has conducted 158 interviews since
inception of the program; 86 of these are fully processed, bound,
and available in the Othmer Library.

Each year CHF sponsors the Edelstein Student and the Edelstein
Fellow to conduct appropriate graduate studies and professional
research, and the graduate programs will be expanded in the
coming year. There are also small travel grants for visits to the
Library.

The Othmer Library is projected to grow to 250,000 volumes over
the next fifteen years. It currently houses approximately 50,000
books and journals ranging in publication dates from 1830-1970.
In addition, the library has collections of historical
manuscripts, artifacts, and a pictorial collection which includes
a variety of photographs and other audio-visual items. All
materials in the library collections are non-circulating, but are
available for in-house use by appointment.